


Some Motherly Advice

by NerdyNostalgia



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Adam is mentioned, After the Lions have crashed, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Getting Together, Keith in a Coma, M/M, Mostly Krolia POV, Post-Season/Series 07, admitting feelings, giving advice, s8 doesn't exist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:41:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25454098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NerdyNostalgia/pseuds/NerdyNostalgia
Summary: Krolia can't help but wonder what it is that Shiro feels for her son. She knows of Keith's feelings for him and so gives some advice that will help not only any potential romance but also their friendship. Shiro takes her advice and tells Keith how he feels, even if he thought Keith was asleep at the time.
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 40





	Some Motherly Advice

Krolia sat on the other side of the bed and took in the sight of Takashi Shirogane fuss over her son. Keith was currently unconscious but that didn’t mean those closest to him didn’t want him to be comfortable.

She had remained at her son’s bedside since she had arrived after receiving word that he had been hospitalised after a fight with a robeast. So she had been witness to the coming and going of those Keith called friends. At first she had expected the Paladins until she heard that they too had been hospitalised. She had been glad to learn that they were all expected to make a full recovery so her attention turned to her son. He had been the most severely injured and he was taking much longer to heal.

Although she couldn’t deny that she had been surprised that Shiro had taken so long to visit her son. At first she wondered if she had missed him but hadn’t been impressed to learn she hadn’t and that for the first week her son was in hospital his best friend hadn’t visited him.

He had eventually visited but it hadn’t been for long. She could feel his nerves coming off of him in waves but she could also sense something else. Whether it was self loathing or something else she couldn’t tell but there was a guilt present in the way he looked at Keith. She wanted to question but had kept her mouth shut feeling it wasn’t her place to pry, even if she was curious.

Over time he had begun to relax and spend more time beside Keith. He began to ask questions about his condition and the tension in his shoulders seemed to wane a fraction. It was clear that he did care about Keith but she wanted to know how. Keith had eventually revealed to her that Shiro was more than a friend. While he would never be the one to move their relationship beyond that of best friends, he longed for more. He had fallen in love with the Black Paladin. Knowing this made her want to question Shiro but also warn him about hurting her son, but it didn’t feel like it was her place especially when her son was in a coma.

So instead she watched, silent, as Shiro fussed over Keith. The Captain of the IGF ATLAS made sure that Keith had the best care and that he was well taken care of. The times he did visit he would adjust her son’s pillows and brush his hair from his face. It made her wonder just what his feelings were for her son.

One day, whether it was due to exhaustion or motherly concern, she asked the question that had been on her mind since she had arrived on Earth, “What do you feel for my son?”

Shiro looked up at her and it was clear he hadn’t expected the question. He looked like, oh what was the phrase Keith and his father used to say...oh yes, a deer caught in headlights as he opened and closed his mouth trying to formulate an answer.

“I care about Keith a lot.” He eventually replied.

Krolia tilted her head, “How exactly? I know that you are important to my son but I have no idea how you feel about my son.”

Shiro felt a blush on his face and looked down at the bed. He looked at Keith’s face and back at Krolia, “Keith is my best friend. He’s the entire reason why I’m even here today. He never gave up on me, had fought for me even when I feel I don’t deserve it. He’s a truly amazing person and I’m lucky that I get to call him my best friend.”

Krolia hummed and nodded, turning her attention back to Keith. She was satisfied with the answer but something told her she was missing something or that he wasn’t telling her the entire truth. She left it for now but her curiosity was piqued. Although she knew that it was an inevitability in life, she didn’t want her son’s heart to be broken.

* * *

Things continued like this for the next week and Krolia continued her observations of Shiro’s visits. He was always quiet but attentive towards her son. Nothing seemed to change until the seventh day of his visits. She had had to step out of the room to speak with Kolivan to receive an update on the Blades and upon her return she heard a voice on the other side of the door. She placed her ear to the door and could hear Shiro’s muffled words. She couldn’t make out what he was saying but he had waited until she was out of the room to say it and she didn’t want to interrupt. Whatever it was was clearly private and meant for her son’s ears only.

She turned from the door and decided to get a cup of coffee. She had grown to like the drink during her time on Earth. Maybe she could use a bit of a break, her son was in safe hands after all.

She returned later to a surprising site. Shiro had his head on the bed and was clearly asleep. She returned to her seat beside Keith’s bed and saw that he was holding Keith’s hand. She had a small smile on her lips as she looked at the scene in front of her. Maybe there really was more to Shiro’s feelings towards her son than he was currently willing to admit.

Things continued this way and by the third time she caught Shiro speaking with her son in her absence she began to make excuses to leave the room. If Shiro wanted some time alone with her son then she would give him that. She just hoped that it was for positive reasons.

* * *

Eventually the other Paladins recovered and were discharged from hospital while her son remained unconscious. This only made her worry grow. As did the fact that Shiro’s visits decreased as he became busier. She didn’t hold it against him but she knew that her son would miss him if he was away for too long.

So it was a surprise to see him when she entered Keith’s room.

“Shiro, I wasn’t expecting to see you today.” She said as she took a seat.

“I needed to be somewhere that wasn’t my office.” He gave her a tired smile and returned to writing.

“Is that for the memorial later this week?”

Shiro nodded, “Yeah, they’ve asked me to give a speech.”

“I’m sure you’ll be quite capable.”

Shiro chuckled, “I’m not so sure about that. I’m not very good at giving speeches.”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine. After all your words have inspired my son fro as long as I’ve known him. Granted that isn’t too long in the grand scheme of things but you certainly made an impression. I’m sure that Keith is not the only one that you’ve inspired, and will inspire, with your words.”

Shiro’s face turned red as he blushed at Krolia’s words, “Uhh, thank you. But its one thing to give Keith some encouragement and another to get on stage and speak in front of a bunch of people.”

“I’m sure you’ll do well. I’ve seen you lead and you’re very capable. I’m sure what you’re writing will be good enough.”

“Thank you.”

Krolia nodded and silence descended over the two. She looked at her son and there was no visible change in him. She turned her attention to Shiro and noticed that he didn’t look quite as tense as he had been earlier. Krolia warred with herself whether to ask Shiro what was on her mind. She looked back to her son and then back to Shiro and made up her mind.

“I know I have asked you before, but what is your relationship to my son?”

Shiro stopped what he was doing and looked up at her, “He’s my best friend.”

“Is there anything more to it than that? You spend quite a bit of time here and I recall how the two of you acted during our return to Earth.”

Shiro opened his mouth but no words came out. How could he explain what he felt for Keith? How could he explain any of it? He closed his mouth and looked down at his lap and sighed, “I don’t know how to explain it.”

“So there is something there.”

Shiro took in a deep breath, “The way I feel about Keith is unlike anything I’ve ever felt about anyone else…”

“But…”

“But I feel like I don’t deserve him. I’ve only hurt him. I have no idea what I’ve done to deserve his devotion and I feel like I can’t do it justice. I just, I don’t know. I want _more_ but we’re in a war and there isn’t really time for that. Plus I just..”

“You’re scared.”

Shiro nodded. Krolia looked at her son and then back to Shiro, “My son cares a great deal about you, that much is obvious. Whatever the two of you are, whatever the two of you become,  it will only happen if the two of you talk. As for your worthiness of anything from my son, I believe that he is the only one who can determine that. I know that there are things that you wish to share with him and only him but be sure to do so when he is awake as well as when he’s asleep.”

Shiro blushed again and nodded. He wasn’t entirely sure that he had the courage to do so. Not only was he reluctant to put his heart on the line after discovering that Adam had been killed but he also didn’t want to burden Keith with his baggage.

Krolia sighed, “Whatever happens between the two of you, make sure you talk. Not talking, not discussing events that have happened, keeping things unsaid can destroy even the strongest of friendships. It starts off small and it will only grow until the space between you is a cavern neither of you can or are willing to cross. You become strangers to one another before you are even aware anything has changed. So my advice to you would be to make sure you discuss what has happened between the two of you. It will help both of you move forward.”

Shiro studied Krolia’s features, “You sound like you talk from experience.”

“I do. If Keith is truly that important to you, whatever you feel for him, then don’t let issues and problems remain unspoken between you. It will only drive you apart.”

Shiro nodded, “I’ll try.”

Krolia nodded, “That’s all I ask.”

The two fell into silence again and Shiro returned to writing his speech. However his mind was stuck on the words that Krolia had said. He looked at Keith and knew that she was right. The two of them needed to talk about everything that had happened to them. They needed to have that conversation so they were on the same page and knew where they stood. The last thing he wanted was to lose Keith and if, when Keith woke up and was discharged from hospital they were going to have that talk.

* * *

The day that Keith woke up Krolia felt she should have known he’d wake up when Shiro wasn’t present. Keith was barely awake for five minutes before he fell unconscious again. However Krolia felt like a weight was lifted from her shoulders. Her son would be okay. She shared a smile with Kolivan before he left to find a doctor.

Shiro returned later in the day and Krolia informed him that Keith had woken up during his speech.

“He woke up?” Shiro didn’t try to hide the excitement in his voice.

Krolia nodded, “He did. It was only for five minutes but its a start. The doctors believe that over the next few days he’ll spend more and more time conscious as he comes out of the coma.”

Shiro nodded. Relief flooded his system at the news that Keith was on the mend. But with the news came fear. He recalled his conversation with Krolia about talking to Keith and he knew it needed to happen.  But he had never been good at talking about his emotions nor talking things out. He was a more ‘bottle it up’ kind of guy but he knew that Krolia was right, if he didn’t talk to Keith about what had happened then it would only grow and cause problems for the two of them. It’s just he wasn’t sure he was ready to talk about it now.

* * *

Over the next week Keith slowly recovered and spent more time awake than asleep. However it appeared Shiro had decided to no longer visit Keith. If anyone asked he would deny that he was running, even if he knew it was the truth. It was just he wasn’t sure what to say to Keith.

On the seventh day of avoiding Keith’s room he decided to visit him that night. Visiting hours had never applied to him as Captain of the ATLAS so he had no trouble getting to Keith’s door. He stood outside and put his hand on the handle. His fear stopped him from pushing on it and entering the room, even if he knew that Keith would be asleep at this time of night.

“So you finally decided to stop avoiding my son?” Krolia said.

Her voice caused Shiro to spin around in shock. He wasn’t used to being sneaked up on and for a brief moment he felt complete panic. Krolia noticed his panicked expression, “I apologise for scaring you.”

“No, don’t worry about it. I should have been paying attention.”

“So you’re here to visit Keith?”

“Uhh, yeah. I finally found some time.”

“He’s asleep at the moment.”

“I figured. I just, I need to see for myself that he’s okay.” 

The words weren’t a lie but they weren’t the whole truth either. Shiro knew he had been caught and hoped that Krolia didn’t push for answers. Luckily she didn’t. She nodded and walked away without a word, leaving Shiro standing outside Keith’s room alone. He turned towards the door and after taking a deep breath he entered the room.

Inside it looked no different from any other time he had visited but knowing that Keith was awake somehow changed the atmosphere in the room. He walked up to Keith’s bed and stared down at the man. The large hospital bed had always made Keith look small and he hated it. Especially when he knew just how strong Keith really was. He took a seat and took hold of Keith’s hand in his own flesh hand. He ran his thumb over Keith’s knuckles and studied his face. He couldn’t deny that Keith looked better.

“I’m glad you’re okay Keith.” He whispered, “You frightened me when the Black Lion crashed to Earth. I thought you were dead and I swear my heart actually stopped for a moment. That fear was the worst thing I have ever felt. I can’t, I don’t...I don’t want to lose you and to come so close was terrifying. You mean so much to me and I’m so glad to know that you’re going to be okay, but I’m also scared. So much has happened to us, and between us, and I don’t even know where to start in talking about it. I want to, I know we need to, but I don’t know how. I don’t want it to come between us and I’m scared that it will. I don’t know what will happen next but I know that I love you and that whatever happens I’m going to make sure you make it through this.”

It was a promise that Shiro made to himself. Trying to protect Keith was the least he could do after all Keith had done for him. It didn’t matter if it took the form of him remaining Keith’s best friend or just his back-up during this war. He was going to be there for Keith in any way that he needed him. He was too important to him. After all he...he loved him. Admitting that was a weight off of his chest. He loved Keith. He was in love with Keith and he was going to stand by his side, no matter what form that took.

It was silent in the room and Shiro made these promises to himself and he was brought out of his thoughts by a hand squeezing his.

“Shiro?”

He looked up to see Keith’s eyes open and they looked glassy. It immediately made Shiro worry, “Keith, are you okay?”

“Did you mean it?”

“What?” It didn’t take him long to realise what Keith meant, “You heard that?”

“Yeah, I did. Did you mean it?”

“Yeah, of course I did.”

Keith looked down at their hands and Shiro remained silent as it seemed Keith was trying to figure out what to say. Keith looked back up at him and squeezed his hand, “I love you too, you know, and I agree we do need to talk. We will, at some point and that’s enough for me right now.”

Shiro smiled and then it dawned on him what Keith was saying, “You…?”

Keith smiled, “Yeah. I thought it was obvious.”

Shiro shook his head, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Shiro let out a laugh and let go of Keith’s hand before leaning forward and pulling Keith into a hug. Keith wrapped his arms around Shiro and the two stayed like that for a while. Both in disbelief that they had actually said those three words to one another as well as a promise to talk more.

“I love you.” Shiro said into Keith’s shoulder.

“I love you too. You just going to keep repeating it?” 

Shiro laughed as he pulled back, “You have no idea how good it feels to say it.”

“I think I might have some idea.”

From the door Krolia watched as the two laughed again. She smiled at the scene she had witnessed. She was glad that they had started to talk and that they appeared happy. From what she had been told and what she had witnessed the two men deserved this. They deserved this bit of happiness that they had found in the war, and she was going to do what she could to ensure it stayed that way. Even if right now that meant leaving her son and his love alone for a little while longer.


End file.
